Germany has become the primary hub for the deportation of Nigerian migrants within the European Union, with 457 Nigerians forcibly returned over an 18-month period through 14 chartered flights, according to data compiled by the Deportees Emergency Reception and Support team (DERS).
Figures shared with Vanguard and also referenced by Refugees4Refugees.org show that between January 2025 and May 2026, German authorities coordinated or took part in every major monthly removal operation from Europe to Nigeria. Lagos received more than 80 percent of the returnees.
In the first half of 2025, 171 people, 143 of them directly from Germany arrived on four charter flights. The second half of the year saw another 135 arrivals across six operations, with one August flight cancelled due to heavy rainfall.
At least two of those operations were conducted solely by German authorities, coordinated by the state of Bavaria, while the remainder were joint EU efforts involving countries including Austria, Luxembourg, Italy, Cyprus and Poland.
The pace continued into 2026. Between January and May, DERS recorded 147 Nigerians returned on German-hosted joint EU charter flights, including 23 in May. Specific operations included 27 people from Stuttgart in February (enforced largely by Baden-Württemberg and including one severely ill individual from Slovakia); 50 on 10 March (37 from Germany, with participants from Spain, Austria and Belgium), which DERS described as the highest single enforcement in three years; 24 from Frankfurt on 8 April; and another 23 in May.
DERS linked many of the removals to the mass denial of residence extensions under Paragraph 104c. The group said authorities frequently cited failure to meet integration requirements such as certified language courses, employment and possession of national identity documents. It alleged that the scheme effectively required “Duldung” (tolerated status) holders to obtain passports that later facilitated deportation.
Beyond the statistics, DERS highlighted several individual cases. On 10 March a mother arrived with two children, one of them autistic and hyperactive, without preparation or support. In February a single mother with a valid residence permit and her three German-born children were deported from Sindelfingen near Stuttgart; the family, who had lived in Germany for nine years, later returned after volunteer intervention.
Another mother deported in April was separated from her three children left in the care of child welfare authorities in Paderborn. A further case involved a mother and her 10-year-old asthmatic daughter. One man residing in Spain was arrested while visiting Germany in Kehl on 15 March, detained for about three weeks and then deported.
DERS noted that Stuttgart and Baden-Württemberg are increasingly serving as departure points, with operations in December 2025 and February 2026 both leaving from Stuttgart. The group criticised what it called repeated violations of international and German domestic law and faulted the Nigerian government for remaining largely silent on reports of rights abuses during removals.
It also pointed to the financial cost, stating that the first-half 2025 operations alone involved 351 security personnel and cost approximately €1.5 million, excluding arrests, court transfers and detention.
With further identification hearings scheduled and monthly deportation flights continuing, DERS advised Nigerians holding “Duldung” status in Germany to take precautions.
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